The present invention relates generally to a method of cleaning window furnishings which are used in particular for decorating window, and an apparatus for carrying out such a method.
In this specification the term window furnishing is used to denote a curtain, a blind, a drape, an internal shutter arrangement and the like, and the term window furnishing portion is used to denote a piece of curtain or drape, a slat of a blind or shutter arrangement, and the like.
Window furnishings which are used for example for the purposes of decorating windows become soiled in the course of time and therefore desirably have to be cleaned at certain intervals. Particularly in the case of slat-like portions of curtains, drapes, blinds and the like, the cleaning operation is found to involve a considerable amount of time and work, and also considerable inconvenience, insofar as the soiled slats or pieces of fabric have to be removed from the window, cleaned piece by piece by washing and brushing and then re-installed.
Besides the considerable amount of work and time involved in that operation, it has also been found that, after the cleaning operation has been carried out, there may be differences in length between the window furnishing portions after they have been fitted into position again. Obviously, such variations in length can have a major adverse effect on the intended decorative character of a window furnishing of that kind. To avoid that situation arising, soiled window furnishing portions are in many cases simply replaced by new window furnishing portions, although, as will be appreciated, that is often extremely expensive.